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ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

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Box 6-1: Financialization of the U.S. Economy<br />

Since the late 1970s, financial deregulation, innovation, and<br />

advances in information technology have fueled an expansion of the<br />

financial services industry. The growth of the financial services industry<br />

relative to the economy, referred to as “financialization,” accelerated<br />

since the 1980s, peaking before the global financial crisis that began in<br />

2007. Most industrial countries have experienced financialization, joined<br />

more recently by emerging market economies as they liberalize their<br />

domestic capital markets.<br />

Expanded financial markets bring many potential benefits. For<br />

example, households today have more access to financial services which,<br />

in turn, gives them greater ability to finance the purchase of homes and<br />

automobiles, and to save at low cost in diversified portfolios. Increased<br />

trading activities can enhance market liquidity and aid in price discovery.<br />

These gains may be magnified when financial activity occurs across<br />

larger and more inclusive markets.<br />

However, there are a number of reasons to be concerned that, past<br />

a certain point, a larger financial sector could be economically costly.<br />

First, a larger financial sector may threaten the overall economy if its<br />

size is coupled with fragility as, the larger the sector, the more problematic<br />

the spillovers may be to the broader economy if a crisis does hit.<br />

Second, financial services may have expanded beyond their social value,<br />

effectively capitalizing on information asymmetries to oversell unneeded<br />

services to an unwitting population. Finally, if the financial sector is<br />

earning excess profits and some of that is used to raise the pay of those<br />

who work in the sector, the higher pay could draw talent away from<br />

alternative activities that would provide social value.<br />

Size of the Financial Sector<br />

A common measure of financial-sector size is the share of GDP<br />

contributed by financial services – consisting of (1) insurance, (2)<br />

securities trading, and (3) credit intermediation.1 This measure does not<br />

capture asset stocks, such as outstanding mortgage credit; rather, it gives<br />

the flow of value added (the flow of compensation, depreciation, profits,<br />

rent, and other income streams) from the financial service activities.<br />

Financial services comprised 4.5 percent of GDP in 1977, crested above<br />

7.5 percent in the mid 2000’s, before crashing in the financial crisis. The<br />

1 In what follows, “Insurance” is defined as the NAICS code 524, which includes insurance<br />

carriers, agencies, brokerages, and related activities; “Securities Trading” as NAICS codes<br />

523 and 525, which include securities and commodity contracts intermediation and<br />

brokerage, as well as funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles; “Credit Intermediation” as<br />

NAICS code 521 which includes monetary authorities, depository credit intermediation,<br />

non-depository credit intermediation, and related activities.<br />

354 | Chapter 6

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